Animal Magnetism

Her mouth fell open. “How were you possibly going to make that good news?”

Brady pulled out his rarely used Visa. “With a nice hotel, including a hot tub for all those sore muscles?”

“How do you know I have sore muscles?”

“Because you had them clenched tight the entire flight. You’re sore.”

She looked him over speculatively, and he wished he knew what the hell she was thinking. But for all that she usually wore her heart on her sleeve for the whole world to see, she was keeping this one close to the vest. Finally she pulled out her cell phone. “Cruz,” she said into it. “Remember that time I covered for you when you took Marie to Vegas for the weekend on the spot? Yeah, well, I’m calling in the marker. I’ll be back some time tomorrow . . . No, you don’t get to ask why. Use your imagination. Feed Sadie.” She slid the phone into her pocket and looked at Brady. “What kind of a reputation do you have that this guy seriously thinks you’d sleep with two women at the same time?”

“Heard that, did you?”

“It wasn’t hard, he talks pretty darn loud.”

“He just couldn’t imagine what would possibly be keeping me, that’s all.”

“Uh-huh. So tell me the truth,” she said. “Was this all a plan to get lucky tonight?”

“If I’d been trying to get lucky, I wouldn’t have terrified you first with the flight.”

She thought about that. “Good point,” she decided, and looked at the phone when it rang again, letting out a moan. “Why, Adam, what a shock,” she said when she answered. “Tell Cruz he’s a tattletale. We’re just stuck waiting for a part, not running off to get married. Talk to you tomorrow.” She shoved her phone back into her pocket and blew out a breath. “About this hotel . . . ”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t want you to spend a lot of money.”

He knew the only thing she hated more than flying was being a burden to someone. “I don’t care about the money.”

“Hmm. Brady?”

“Yeah?”

“Two women?”

He sighed, and gently squeezed her fingers. “Let it go.”

Half an hour later, Brady had reserved a two-bedroom suite in a boutique hotel that the restaurant had recommended. It had a lush lobby, done up in luxurious Old West-style with leather and dark, rich woods. They managed to buy some toiletries for the night in one of the shops before going upstairs.

When Brady escorted Lilah to their floor, she narrowed her eyes at him. “Penthouse? How’s the penthouse being thrifty?”He shrugged, then took her to the wide windows, where she gaped at the skyline view of Boise.

“Oh my God,” she said for the tenth time as they walked through the opulent place. “What did you do?”

“My money,” he reminded her.

“But it must have cost a fortune.”

He opened the door to her room, nudged her inside, and then when she whirled to face him, mouth open—no doubt to bitch him out some more—he gently shut the door in her face.

And went to his bedroom. He had to, or he’d have taken her right there, and he couldn’t do that. If they were going to sleep together again, it had to be her choice, not circumstance, but a real choice. He was flipping through one hundred and fifty channels on the TV when there was a quiet knock at his door. He opened it to Lilah.

“Hi,” she said softly.

“Hi.”

Putting her hands on his stomach to push him out of the way, she walked in.

Okaaaay. He leaned back against the door to study her. It was that or grab her and toss her to the bed. Since his fingers were itching to do just that, he jammed them into his pockets.

“Hi,” she said.

He smiled. “You already said that.”

She nodded. “Right. Listen, I forgot to mention one more thing that I’m afraid of besides flying.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m afraid to sleep alone in a hotel room. Suite. Mausoleum. Whatever.” She looked around the big fancy room. “Although yours doesn’t look as scary as mine.”

He arched a brow. They had the exact same rooms.

She returned his look with a guileless little smile. “So I was hoping you wouldn’t mind letting me in,” she said.

He was beginning to think he would let her in anywhere, at any time, and in any place she wanted. His chopper, his hotel room, his life.

His f**king heart . . .

Thirteen

Lilah would have laid money down on Brady having her na**d by now, but he was still standing all the way across the room, leaning back against the hotel room door just looking at her.

Silent.He could be endlessly silent, she’d discovered. Miserly with words until she wanted to tear her hair out. Luckily she’d also learned that he was the opposite with his actions, instead being generous and infinitely giving, and it was those things she was interested in at the moment.

She wanted his hands on her. His mouth.

Everything.

“Is there a problem?” she finally asked him, unable to hold the silence.

“I don’t know yet.”

That had her raising a brow.

“You came here to jump my bones,” he said.

That startled a laugh out of her. “Yes. Yes, I believe I did.” He still didn’t move, and she cocked her head. “And look at you standing over there like a virgin on her wedding night.”

He didn’t react. He was good at that, too, at making her come right out and say exactly what was on her mind. No games, not for Brady. “We had dinner first,” she said, teasing. “Do you need more romancing?”

“Shit, Lilah.” He shoved his fingers through his short hair, making it stand straight up in spikes. He should have looked ridiculous, but he didn’t.

He looked hot and frustrated.

And hot.

He was staring her down, his dark blue eyes unreadable in the ambient hotel room lighting. She held his gaze, trying to outlast him, trying to convince him that she was totally cool and one hundred percent in charge of this situation, which of course she wasn’t.

Not even close.

“We need to talk,” he finally said.

Oh crap. The most dreaded three words in the English language. “Don’t tell me. You’re married.”

“What? No.”

“Engaged?”

“Jesus. No.”

Hmm. She was starting to feel a little better about this talking thing. “Are you in a relationship?”

He shot her a look of pure alpha male annoyance, and she felt her ni**les go hard. Goodness, he was a force.

“You know I’m not,” he said. “Nor do I want to be.”

“Great.” She shrugged out of her top, leaving her in a tiger-striped demi-bra. She’d ordered it online from Victoria’s Secret with a coupon, and it made her boobs look perky.

He took one look at her and groaned. “You’re not listening to me.”

“Oh, I’m listening.” She unzipped her skirt. “You don’t want to be in a relationship. Which is perfect because what I want doesn’t involve much other than a condom, and I’m packing this time.”

He was staring at the condom she’d pulled out of her pocket. “You just happened to have a condom in your pocket?”

“Three. You are welcome.”

“You going to come any closer? Because I have to tell you, that whole smoldering, brooding thing you have going on is actually doing it for me.” She grinned. “You could just watch if you’d rather.”

He choked out a laugh.

“Or sit on your hands if you’re absolutely determined not to be a part of this.”

That did it. He shoved away from the door and slowly stalked her with the confidence of a big wildcat at the top of his food chain, crowding into her space, pushing her back until her legs hit the big, fluffy, elegant, fancy bed behind her.

“Sit on my hands?” he repeated in a voice so gruff she felt herself go damp. Suddenly the room was feeling waaay too small and she wondered if maybe she’d poked the tiger a little too hard. “If you must,” she whispered.

“Do your panties match your bra?” he asked, dipping his head to breathe the words in her ear, his hands going to her h*ps as if he intended to look for himself.

At the quick subject change, she blinked. “Yes.”

“Are they wet?”

Before she could answer, he pushed her skirt down. As she’d already learned, once he was in control, he showed no mercy, and now was no different. He dropped to his knees, his hands sliding down the backs of her thighs to open them wider. “Yeah,” he said when he had her legs the way he wanted them, his voice holding more than a hint of naughty accusation. “Wet.”

“I . . . ”

His hands skimmed up her inner thighs, meeting in the middle, where his thumbs brushed over her center, making her gasp.

At the sound, he surged to his feet, sliding his big hands up her now quivering body. She rocked into his touch as his mouth trailed along her jawline, nuzzling into her ear. “Look at me.”

With effort, she lifted her head.

“I love your eyes,” he said. “They glow when you’re turned on. They’re glowing like emeralds now.”

No man had ever said anything like that to her before, ever. And that was the thing with Brady. He was cool and distant. Tough and edgy. Smart as hell and braver than any man she’d ever known. Testosterone and danger oozed from his every pore.

Even in bed, as she had good reason to know.

But he didn’t hold back. Not in life, and certainly not in bed, where if he felt like it, he could linger until she lost her mind as he touched and kissed and nibbled and licked . . .

And sometimes, when it counted, he had words, too.

She slid her fingers into his hair and pulled until his mouth was on hers. He immediately opened for her, the kiss hard and fierce, and when they broke apart, they were both breathing hard.

“More,” he demanded, and then stroked a hand across the curve of her belly. His fingers were roughened from hard physical labor, bringing delicious shivers to her body as he tugged the straps of her bra off her shoulders. He kissed the plump of each breast before unhooking the bra and tossing it over his shoulder. Leaning in, he flicked his tongue over a nipple and slid a hand into her panties, unerringly finding her happy spot.

When she cried out, he dragged the silk down her legs, leaving her exposed to his hot gaze. It was dark outside, but he had the lamps on and she knew he could see everything he wanted.

“You’re overdressed,” she whispered.

Muscles flexed as he reached behind him and tore his shirt off over his head. It went flying in the same direction as her bra and panties had, and she moaned at the mouth-watering view of him, all those perfect sinewy lines . . .

The metallic slide of his zipper sounded shockingly loud in the room and then his pants were gone, but before she could get a good look he’d dropped to his knees again, his hands back on her inner thighs. She felt his breath stir against her.

“I’ve been hungry for this all week, Lilah,” he said, and separated her folds with his thumbs to put his mouth on her.

A sound escaped her, a wordless cry that she couldn’t have held in to save her life as he worked her over with a delicate precision that spoke of how much her pleasure meant to him. Her hands were still in his hair—she couldn’t help but hold on when he found her rhythm as if he knew her body better than she did.

She’d wanted the heat, she’d needed the escape, but she found more, so much more, and her orgasm hit hard and unexpected. When her legs gave out he wrapped his arms around her, effortlessly holding her up. Even after she stopped shuddering, he lingered, bringing her down gently before he rose to his feet. He tugged the bedspread off the bed, then tossed her on the mattress, crawling up her body, eyes glittering, muscles tense, his skin gleaming. He threaded his hands into her hair and tipped up her face, staring into her eyes as if he was trying to memorize her. She did the same, loving the way his gaze lit when he looked at her, the way his mouth twitched when she was amusing him in some way, how his voice sounded when he murmured her name. And then there was how his body felt against her own, how he made her feel.

Wanted.

Craved.

Safe.

She’d never experienced anything like how she felt surrounded by his arms. And still she needed more. She pushed, and he let her roll him beneath her, where she took her mouth on a tour over his pecs, across his abs, heading downward—

He reversed their positions again.

“Hey,” she said.

He showed her the condom in his fingers, the one he’d snagged from her.

“Oh,” she breathed. “I like how you think.”

“Yeah?” He kneeled between her legs and rolled on the condom. “Then you’re going to really like what comes next.” He kissed her mouth, gliding up to graze his teeth along her jaw, then the sweet spot beneath her ear, the swirl of his tongue making her squirm with the memory of where else he was good with that tongue. As if he’d followed the train of her thoughts, he laughed softly and threaded his fingers in her hair, tilting her head so that he could hold her gaze as he slid inside her.

There was no space between them, nothing but pleasure. His hands slid down her back and over the cheeks of her ass, lifting her, changing the angle, making her moan helplessly at the sensation of him filling her so completely with nothing more than one sure push of his hips. She gasped and cried out at the same time, arching against him, rocking up as he started to move inside her.

“Lilah.”